Tuukka Rask’s prime time to shine for Bruins

Though the Bruins have most of the same pieces that have given them two pretty good seasons in a row, including one championship, they’re missing a major one in Tim Thomas.

The 38-year-old goaltender, the MVP of Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup championship run, has been suspended by the team for sitting out this season despite having one more year on his contract.

That has put the No. 1 job squarely in the hands of 25-year-old Tuukka Rask, who led the NHL in save percentage and goals-against average three seasons ago when Thomas was hobbled by a hip injury.

Arguably the best backup in the NHL, Rask has yet to prove himself in the postseason. During the 2009-10 season as the No. 1 goalie, Rask (1.97, .931, 22-12-5) helped the Bruins to a 39-30-13 record and a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, but seemed to hit a wall as Boston blew a 3-0 series lead to Philadelphia in the conference semifinals.

This, however, is a very different year. For one thing, Rask won’t have to carry the same regular-season load in the truncated 48-game season. For another, he was just a kid then.

“I’m still a kid,” he said with a boyish laugh. “Just a few years under my belt for experience — that’s the only difference, I think.”

Coach Claude Julien said he thinks there’s a world of difference in Rask.

“This player’s in a different place right now,” he said. “I don’t know that I would associate those two things, from then to now, because of that reason — we’re talking about 2-1/2 to 3 years later.

“He’s certainly more durable, he’s certainly gotten stronger, he’s matured — all those things should play in his favor.”

Another advantage could be Rask’s time in Europe during the lockout. He faced a lot of rubber playing for Plzen in the Czech Republic League, finishing with a 10-7-0 record and a 2.13 GAA. It helped his preparation.

“Yeah, conditioning-wise for sure,” Rask said. “They’re different kind of shots there. It seemed like every shot was almost like a scoring chance because the team defense is not as good as it is here. I had a lot of two-on-ones, breakaways, stuff like that.”

The Bruins have had a succession plan in place almost since the day they acquired Rask from Toronto for Andrew Raycroft in 2006. General manager Peter Chiarelli has never hesitated to pronounce Rask as the heir to Thomas’ throne.

“You may have heard me talk about handing the reins over to him when it’s time,” Chiarelli said wryly. “Maybe it’s a year early from my perspective, but it’s close enough that we’re happy where he is in his development.”

Rask took a huge gamble in the offseason, choosing to sign a one-year deal for $3.5 million instead of locking in some long-term security at big bucks. He made his decision after Thomas announced he was sitting out, and said he was confident enough in his ability that a good season in 2013 would translate into even bigger bucks this summer.

Rask doesn’t think he’s putting pressure on himself. And why should he? He had better numbers last season (2.05, .929) than Thomas (2.36, .920).

“No, I don’t like to take pressure about anything,” Rask said. “If I play to my level, I’m sure everything will be fine. … You just try to focus on how good you can be, and try to bring that every night. That’s the only thing I can really do, right?”

The lockout rust was evident as the Bruins regulars suffered a 7-5 loss to the AHL’s Providence Bruins during the annual Black and Gold Scrimmage on Tuesday night at the Garden.

“I expected a fairly even game and it was,” Julien said.

Rask allowed four goals in the third period. Rookie Chris Bourque, playing for the regulars, pretty much nailed down his left-wing spot on the third line with a goal and two assists.

Rookie defenseman Dougie Hamilton, also with the big team, was guilty of several giveaways and was out-scrapped by Max Sauve at the side of the net for a goal. “He looked a little nervous,” Julien said.

Defenseman Adam McQuaid got knocked down by Lane MacDermid, took exception, then was one-punched to the ice by Providence tough guy Bobby Robins, but was not injured.

Practices will be open to the public at 10 a.m. today and Friday at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington in advance of Saturday night’s season opener at the Garden against the New York Rangers (7 p.m., NESN).

Contact Bud Barth at hbarth@telegram.com.

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